JGR Co-Founder J.D. Gibbs Dies At 49

J.D. Gibbs, seen here in 2010, will be honored on the 11th lap of the Daytona 500. (NASCAR photo)

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – Joe Gibbs Racing officials confirmed Friday night that team co-founder and co-chairman J.D. Gibbs has died at the age of 49 from complications following a long battle with a degenerative neurological disease.

Gibbs was the eldest son of three-time Super Bowl-winning coach and multi-time NASCAR champion team owner Joe Gibbs, first serving as a tire changer on his father’s team in 1993, the year that JGR won its first Daytona 500 with driver Dale Jarrett.

He spent time as a driver in his own right, making five NASCAR Xfinity Series starts and eight NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series starts between 1998 and 2002, but he was best known for his business role within the motorsports team his father began.

J.D. Gibbs became president of Joe Gibbs Racing in 1998, holding that role and guiding the organization through March of 2015, when the Gibbs family revealed that J.D. was battling brain-function problems and that doctors had no clear answer for his struggles.

In addition to his father Joe, those that Gibbs is survived by include wife Melissa and sons Joe Jackson, William Miller, Jason Dean II and Zachary Taylor, as well as brother Coy, nephews Ty, Case and Jet and niece Elle.

Additional information regarding details for a memorial service will follow at a later date.

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